Daily Images from the Crazy Cat Lady

Gorgeous Day

2012-02-11T23:50:00.000-05:00

We woke up to this beautiful, bright, snowy scene this morning. We went for breakfast at a cute little Omelette and Waffle cafe in downtown Plymouth. This time of year it is always a blessing to see the sun shining.

Normal Friday

2012-02-11T23:44:00.003-05:00

I worked at HSHV today. An adopter brought her Pit Bull puppy back for a visit. She was adorable and very friendly. I feel for all the Pit Bulls in our shelter. It is hard to find adopters for them, especially the older ones.

Gorgeous Day

2012-02-11T23:40:00.000-05:00

It was beautiful and warm today. I went out with the dogs for a while why they played in the yard. Lucy was her usual self, biting Ollie all over.

Ollie just wanted to play tug as usual.

Room Accomplished

2012-02-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

I was up until 2am making lists of rooms for Cassie. In the end she didn't need it. A few rooms disappeared before her 10:15am time slot, but she got her second choice of rooms in the dorm she wanted to live in. I think she is very relieved.

I was pretty exhausted and didn't accomplish much today. I did pull out the camera and snapped a few photos of the dogs playing on my new rug. Ollie really blends in.

Guest Photographer

2012-02-11T23:27:00.000-05:00

Laura and I worked on our computers today figuring out good rooming options for Cassie. She has to sign up tomorrow and has a full day with seven hours of class and a few extra things to do. She got home from class before 11pm and we then went over things.

With all that I somehow forgot to pull out my camera today. Luckily Mark covered it for me in Puerto Rico. He is down there for a few days this week for a hush-hush project. This is as close as he got to the beach. Most of his photos were of mud holes.

Mud Bath

2012-02-06T21:32:00.001-05:00

Good news today. The orthopedic doctor says Kevin's wrist is not broken and he can take off the splint. That means he is back to driving again.

I took the dogs to the dog park for the first time today. What a mess. We were sinking in mud up to our ankles. Kevin had to clean his car while I cleaned the dogs, my shoes, and myself.

But Ollie really enjoyed it. He was as possessed as he looks in this photo.

Lazy Superbowl Day

2012-02-05T21:57:00.000-05:00

Watching the Giants win the Superbowl as I write. Patriots almost caught a hail mary to win it.

I am not huge into football, so my highlight of the day was putting together the tripod Mark gave me for my birthday. I took a whole bunch of shots of the fireplace. Here is my favorite.

Teenagers

2012-02-04T12:10:00.000-05:00

Alana had Shannon over. Morgan stopped by so that she and Alana could send in their housing requests for Michigan State. Then Paul showed up to hand out with Kevin. Nothing serious happened after that.

Kevin went to a sweet sixteen party tonight. Mark and I went to the movies while he was at the party.

It's my birthday

2012-02-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

Went out with the Bergmann's and Fite's to El Nibble Nook. The Fite's gave me a fancy Red Solo cup. I will have to take a picture of it. Mark took a pictures of the gals' side of the table.

Say Cheese

2012-02-02T23:50:00.001-05:00

Off to get passport pictures for the kids today. Since they are over sixteen, no husband is required to get their passports. I guess they feel if you steal your teenager and leave the country, you are only doing your spouse a favor.

This is what we returned home to find. Ollie and Lucy had destroyed Lucy's dog bed. It reminded me of the aftermath of a teen party in the movies.

Bookworms Photoless

2012-02-01T22:52:00.002-05:00

I had it in my mind that I would take a photo of the Bookworms tonight, but then I totally forgot. We discussed the Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly and learned a little bit about people's experience with jury duty. It was a fun night.

Not having a picture, I had to come up with something in the house. I decided on the kitchen lights. I'm really happy they were just fixed. We were without them for a few months. Not real exciting, but at least I pulled out the camera.

Sexy and I'm Broken

2012-01-31T22:20:00.003-05:00

White Men Can't Jump
Instead of the dog park, I got to take Kevin to urgent care today. Yesterday, he landed hard on it after jumping up for a basketball during a pickup game. So much for him driving to school. Now I need to make an appointment to see an orthopedic doctor for his broken wrist.

This is his arm in the middle of splinting. They added a cast piece underneath his arm and then wrapped the whole thing with ace bandages. Lovely!

On the positive side. They told Kevin they were talking about how he looked like a Ralph Lauren model. Just what I need for the guy who is always singing, "I'm Sexy and I know it!" At least he kept his sense of humor while we were there. He was goofing off as usual.

Just another Laundry Day

2012-01-30T20:43:00.004-05:00

Nothing much happened today, except laundry and grocery shopping. Kevin went to play basketball and fell on his wrist. We are hoping it is not broken.

I took some pictures while doing laundry trying to work on my understanding of white balance. Not very exciting, but here is the shot I got that looked natural. I didn't realize my shot was going to perfectly match my blog. :)

Beating the Sun Home

2012-01-29T09:24:00.005-05:00

Kevin and I had to turn around and go Wixom for another soccer game at 6:35am. We overslept but made it in time. They lost 2-0 to one of the best teams in the state. We made it home just as the sun was rising.

I knew it wouldn't last. It clouded up and I got this shot on the way home from Cassie's dorm this afternoon. Alana returned from Ferris and Mark made it home very late from Denver, delayed on both segments of his flight.

Late Night Soccer

2012-01-28T23:14:00.001-05:00

Kevin and Paul left for their Science Fair early and were home by 9:30am. They said it went well. Not a lot happened today, but Kevin did get a call asking him to play an indoor soccer game at 10:55pm. Of course, he said yes. They lost 6-4, but played great for a bunch of kids that just showed up from all different teams and didn't necessarily know each other.

I took my photo in the parking lot at High Velocity. The flag looked pretty at night. I wish I had a tripod so I could bring down the ISO a little

Another Night Out

2012-01-27T23:17:00.001-05:00

It was definitely one of those jam-packed days. The electrician this morning, the humane society this afternoon, picking up Cassie in the evening, and dinner out with friends tonight.

Alana went to Ferris with the Fite's today and Cassie drove herself there tonight. I told Cassie to let me know when she got there, since it's a 3 hour drive, and she texted me, but her phone autocorrected to "I'm hurt" instead of "I'm here." Her next message said, "Hurt," and the final one said, "Here!" It caused me a little bit of heart failure.

Kevin also drove all over the place today, Canton->Dearborn->Wixom->Canton->Dearborn->Wixom, about 3 hours total. He's enjoying the freedom of having a license.

I took a few pictures of puppies at work and swans on the lake today in Ann Arbor, but nothing great. Luckily, after a really fun dinner with Sally and Debbie, I got a decent shot of the bar. I enjoy photographing bars. They usually have some really neat architectural or lighting features. This one had different sections lit up and the colors kept changing.

The Blahs

2012-01-26T22:13:00.002-05:00

I think I'm starting to be affected by the lack of sunshine. It's just been so grey here lately. I didn't do much today beside get caught up on some reading and take a bubble bath. My shots of the bubbles were really boring but I liked this one of the faucet.

Zazio's

2012-01-25T23:52:00.000-05:00

We went to a restaurant in Birmingham, Mi for a Chef's Table dinner. The chef prepared the meal in front of us and we learned about different olive oils and prosciuttos. This was a meeting for one of Mark's professional groups. They are a great group of people. I don't know them that well yet, but they are all very welcoming.

I took a lot of bad shots because of the lighting, but on the way out I used a pillar as a make-shift tripod and finally got a good shot. I cropped in on the curved ceiling above the bar which really looked cool.

Here is the full bar shot.

EMS at Home

2012-01-24T23:51:00.000-05:00

I did not say in the last photo that I was passed by another ambulance on the way to school as well. An just now I went to get my book to read (it's 11:45pm) and noticed lights outside.

There is an ambulance and fire truck right outside. I don't have a tripod so i just rested my lens against my window. This is the best I could do. Once again, I hope everyone is okay. I can still hear the engine noise, so I know they are still out there.

EMS at the High School

2012-01-24T23:21:00.000-05:00

An ambulance passed me on the way to pick up DS at the high school today. I took a picture of the fire truck, the ambulance is behind it.

DS did not know why it was there, he thought maybe that someone had an asthma attack. I am really hoping everything is okay. There have been to many deaths at his small school in the last two years.

Tonight I went to my Barnes and Noble book club to discuss The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. I really like the group, but they really couldn't stay on topic today.

Finals

2012-01-23T23:27:00.000-05:00

Alana is studying hard for her finals. They are the next three days. Kevin picked up his license at the Secretary of State office.

NAIAS

2012-01-22T23:14:00.000-05:00

After Kevin's soccer game, Mark and I headed down to the North American International Auto Show. I always like to see the concept cars. There were not that many but GM had a few. We also went downstairs where they had all these different cars running on electricity. There was an Escalade, some Malibus, three Volts, a Leaf, and a few others. It was eerie how quiet is was. We took a ride in one of the Volts. I am excited for when mine arrives.

Here is GM's concept car (to view large, click on the photo and then click on the magnifying glass right above the photo):

This is the En-V. No thank you; it looks like a Dead Mobile:

Be-lated Holidays

2012-01-21T23:54:00.001-05:00

It was a really busy Saturday. Kevin took his on-road driving test and passed! Our new couches arrived, and we had Mark's company holiday party. I didn't take many pictures today, but here's one of the dogs with the couch in the foreground.

Back to Work

2012-01-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

I dropped Kevin off with the soccer carpool and was able to work at the Humane Society today. It was really quiet with only a few adoptions, but a few good things happened. An owner came in with his 14 week old corgi/collie mix. This little puppy was amazing. He could sit, lay, crawl, roll over, superman, high five, and wait while surrounded by treats. I forgot to take his picture, but below are some of the other dogs that were there.

The only other exciting thing that happened was that I booked Alana's spring break cruise. It is Alana, Shannon, Laura and I. I'm pretty excited.

There were so many sweet dogs. There was a St. Bernard, five Beagles, a Basset Hound, and this sweet hound named Sky.

In the puppy room, beside the usual Bullies there was this little Chihuahua who was just dancing around.

Almost a Driver

2012-01-19T23:28:00.000-05:00

Kevin has gotten so good at driving, I spent the whole 40 minutes on the way home trying to get some shots of him with everything blurred out the window.

He is taking his test on Saturday and will hopefully have his license by Monday.

Beaumont Hospital and PetSmart Kittens

2012-01-18T23:20:00.000-05:00

Today was a blur. But the highlight was the presentation Mark and I attended at Beaumont. I picked him up at the airport and he went straight there. We attended a Neurological demonstration. The doctors showed up the equipment used to perform a brain tumor biopsy, a disc fusion procedure, and object extraction from the nasal cavities. We then got to play with the equipment itself. I performed a biopsy and Mark was playing with the camera. The doctors had a lot of interesting things to say.

The things that stuck with me most from the whole experience were that the brain procedures were so delicate compared to the spinal procedures. It was almost like medieval medicine. They were using all the medal screws and devices used to shove rods into the body. It was a little scary. Also, it seemed like the equipment company reps (who have little medical education), are able to instruct the doctors on how to use the equipment and have a lot of say in the procedure. That was even scarier.

No cameras were allowed. I got a picture of Mark after it was over, but it is still on his camera.

After I got home, I went with Alana to PetSmart. She pretty much does all the work, but likes having someone go with her. One of the kittens was using the watering can as a drinking fountain.

It's cagemate was also a thumb cat, as we like to call them. If you have not seen one before, they really look like little hands, or like they are wearing mittens.

Harry Potter on my iBaby

2012-01-17T23:59:00.001-05:00

I have spent the last couple months listening to the Harry Potter books on my Ipod. They help me fall to sleep at night and give me something to do when driving to pick up Kevin from school. I was in the car over two and half hours today. Kevin drove me to Ann Arbor to return Cassie's id and keys. We listened to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the whole time. He also drove through the car wash for the first time, but I forgot to bring my camera.

Right now, I cannot imagine my life without my little blue iBaby.

I put a make-shift light box together and played with taking different shots. I am not satisfied with the results (had to correct a lot on the computer), but it is helping me to learn. I will probably come back to it another time to see if I improve.

MLK Day = Kids Spoil my Cleaning Day

2012-01-16T23:05:00.000-05:00

I normally clean and get my laundry done on Mondays. But with 3 teens in the house (Kevin went to school but Shannon never left), I think there was as much mess making and mess cleaning. Later on in the day, I found one of my converse missing laces. And it wasn't Lucy. Grrr!

I took another online FEMA class and picked Kevin up from school. I think he's down to 6 hours of driving left. The girls hung out and studied.

Later on Alana took Cassie back to school, but they had to come home again since she left her computer on the kitchen table. I took pity on Alana and took her back the second time. Cassie almost left her computer on the counter, but Alana called her back to get. When we got her back to the dorm, Cassie didn't have her card keys or i.d. She'd left them in Bessie (the Lexus). She's seems so overwhelmed with school right now. I am a little worried since it's only two weeks into the semester.

I didn't get any life shots today, but I did manage to get out in the back yard. Here are my hydrangeas that I never cut back.

Ann Arbor x 2

2012-01-16T22:49:00.001-05:00

It was a busy day. Mark took Kevin to an early soccer game (lost 5-2). And I headed to Ann Arbor in the afternoon to attend a book discussion of Wuthering Heights. It was my first time with the group and I enjoyed it.

On my way home, I stopped at a little park along the Huron River because there are always at least 20 swans that hang out there. But it was so cold, my fingers were aching. I only managed 4 shots before I had to race back to the car. Luckily, I got this nice shot, but know swans. I needed a telephoto to get better shots of them.

Mark, Alana, Shannon, and I then headed back to Ann Arbor to pick up Cassie. We had a nice dinner at Carson's and brought her home for the night, since none of them have class on MLK day.

2012-01-16T22:34:00.000-05:00

Spent a lot of time trying to plan a cruise for Alana and Shannon for Spring Break. Of course, in the time it took Alana to find a friend to go (1 week), tickets have gone up $200 dollars. I think 5-7 days after New Years is the time to buy tickets and if you miss the window, you're SOL.

I didn't take any photos today. I thought about pulling out my camera late in the day, but I would just be taking the same shots as yesterday. So here is a shot of Lucy from yesterday.

And just for you Laura, here's one with a nose.

Soccer and Dogs - all the usual

2012-01-13T23:48:00.000-05:00

Alana stayed home sick again. Hope she's feeling better soon. I spent 3 1/2 hours taking boys to and from soccer today. I never got around to pulling out my camera until 11:40pm. The only thing I could think to take pictures of was the dogs. Here's Mark's favorite of Ollie. You can see where he rubbed his nose raw when he was in the kennel at Christmas. He probably just sat there with his nose through the cage trying to get extra love.

Gray and Gloomy

2012-01-12T23:46:00.001-05:00

It's the kind of day that makes you want to curl up by the fire with a book. I would rather it be snowing.

Luckily, there was enough to keep me busy today. Kevin finished midterms and I picked him up. This shot is of my rainy car windshield from the passenger seat. I've sat here an hour each day being chauffeured by Kevin. Ten more hours and he's ready to drive solo.

Today I also attended my lunchtime book club. We had a great discussion of the book, Room, by Emma Donoghue. It is a novel written in the perspective of a five year old boy. I recommend reading it. If you struggle with the first few chapters because of the unusual perspective, just keep going. You will be glad you did.

In the evening, Kevin drove me to his first indoor soccer game. They lost 2-0, but it was a pretty even game.

On your Marks, Get Set, Go!

2012-01-11T22:07:00.001-05:00

I love myself as I am, but I'd really love a smaller me too. The only way I seem to lose weight is if I am competing with Mark. I hate to lose! Tonight is the weigh in for our little weight loss competition. May the best loser win.

Besides that, I spent 4 hours today taking an online FEMA course, not very exciting.

One or Two, or Three or Four

2012-01-10T23:58:00.002-05:00

Had my annual eye exam today. This picture sums it up; back to 20/20 on the left, slightly blurry on the right. And he did mention the dreaded B word - Bifocals. But since I don't wear my glasses much anyhow, he said I can wait.

Alana stayed home sick with a slight fever, and I had to drive Kevin to school for one final. I had two hours to burn, so i did a little shopping and then drove around stopping to take photos. There is a lot to shoot in Dearborn. I stopped at partially frozen retention pond surrounded by grasses, a cemetery, a pretty neighborhood with awesome trees, and the Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church where I took this photo.

This is not a great photo technically. My setting are off leaving it grainy when enlarged. I've kept it so I can compare to later, better shots. Hopefully!

Total Lack of Motivation

2012-01-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

I didn't even start taking the tree down. About the only thing I got done today was making dinner and taking photos. I worked on the theme challenge of taking abstract photos of everyday items. I think I need a different lens for these. Mine had a hard time focusing and if I put it on manual my eyesight messes it up. Luckily, it's off to the eye doctor tomorrow morning.

Here are my best shots. It's pretty obvious what they are:

And:

And finally:

Sea Island Georgia

2012-01-09T11:43:00.007-05:00

Here is the information for the 2013 Sea Island family vacation. Clicking on the maps will bring up a slightly bigger picture. I'll update this post from time to time, so you might want to bookmark it.

The location map:

The resort map: We are a little walk from the beach, probably 1/4 to 4/10th of a mile. I don't know why they don't have golf carts. They usually do. People suggest renting bikes and you can also drive.

The only satellite maps online that have the updated streets and resort are bing. Just search for Cottages Lane, Sea Island Georgia to find them. And don't use Bird's Eye, it just shows a whole in the ground, use Aerial.

The ER homes. We are in units 921 and 924

The houses are the same except 924(K,K,K,D/D) is the mirror image and has king beds in both downstairs rooms. These pictures show 921(K,K,D/D,D/D). Max occupancy=10, suggested=8. Here is their info on 921.

This spacious residence offers 3,700 interior square feet and sleeps eight very comfortably. There are two master suites, both with king beds. The third and fourth bedrooms each have two double beds.

Residence Features
Heated private pool
Screened outdoor dining porch with summer kitchen
Airy, two-story great room
Oversized gas fireplace in living area and gas fireplaces in master and junior master suites
Fully equipped gourmet kitchen with Viking appliances
High-speed wireless Internet access

Challenge Failure

2012-01-08T21:54:00.000-05:00

Nothing exciting happened today, just getting ready for the week. Alana goes back to school and Kevin has finals.

After dinner I tried to take pictures for the my 365 project. I was trying to create a cool double shadow similar to Edward Steichen's famous photo of Fred Astaire. Besides the painter's light we didn't have a single light bulb over 60 watts. So this was the best I could do. I will try again another day.

On the lighter side, we thought Ollie was injured today. He was under the table and wouldn't get up. We finally figured out that he had poop stuck in his fur and was emotionally distressed.

Michigan Theater

2012-01-07T23:29:00.004-05:00

We dropped Alana off to see Cassie tonight and then went to see "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" at the Michigan Theater. It is the only place I have ever been where there is an organist playing live before the show.

The Michigan Theater opened in January, 1929, during the age of the silent films, when live music was played to accompany the show.

Here is a photo inside the theater of the ceiling in the main auditorium. The gold leaf still sparkles. I had to laugh as the people next to us were staring at me so obviously, when I looked at them, the guy had to say "hi." It was pretty funny.

Flower

2012-01-06T23:21:00.001-05:00

Friday is my day to volunteer at the Humane Society. It was pretty busy until the end of the day. I then pulled out my camera and got a chance to shoot a few pictures of Flower and other animals at the shelter.

Hooray, Mark and Alana are home.

Reflections

2012-01-05T13:52:00.002-05:00

The last day before the skiers come home. Just another day of straightening and organizing. It seems that's what I do in January. Kevin now has under 15 hours of driving left before he gets his license. The big questions will be, whose car will have to sit out in the cold and snow this winter?

I played around taking photos tonight of the Christmas tree. I cannot decide which I like best, w in or out of focus. What do you think?

When I went to post last night, we had no internet again, so I had to post a day late and backdate it.

Who is that Masked Feline?

2012-01-04T23:56:00.003-05:00

It's Sugar! Or Sugar Booger, or Suges, or Boogie, or Boogs.

Got a lot done today. That makes up for the 45 minutes I spent out in the freezing cold trying to get a cool shot of my evergreen tree. They were all rubbish! And it was grumpy day at the habitat at PetSmart; two out of six cats hissed at me. What's up with that?

Update on Tahoe: they just hung out for the day. Shannon was up half the night on the Hurl-a-whirl. I think this is the trip that should never have been.

Loving Animals to Death

2012-01-03T21:16:00.001-05:00

Hoarders think they love animals so much they need to have more and more. But in the end, they cause them pain and suffering. One such victim arrived at our home today. The Bagpiper: suffering chronic, incurable respiratory infections.

The Bagpiper has been hiding in a basket all day, putting his head down because he then thinks we cannot see him. I snapped a quick shot when he peered up to see if I had left.

I am glad to have a new friend in the house. Kevin is back in school and Cassie returned to Michigan today. I haven't heard from the skiers, so they much be having fun out in California.

Shutter Speed

2012-01-02T18:33:00.003-05:00

Diving back into manual mode on my camera; I really need to go back to the basics. Today, I played with the shutter speed while photographing a moving object. I liked the blur patterns the fan blades created and was lucky that one had the pattern perfectly placed. This was the highlight of my day. Other than that, it was 7 loads of laundry and some cleaning.

The Tahoe people are surviving, getting out early and heading to the top of the mountain. But down low, this is what they are dealing with. Definitely not the ideal ski vacation.

365 Again ...

2012-01-01T22:06:00.001-05:00

I've decided to try to start taking daily pictures again in order to improve my photography skills. Laura is joining me this time. I'll be posting my photos on 365project.org and taking part in their weekly photo challenges. My first challenge was to take my camera off automatic. My first manual photo in years:

Other things happening today: Mark and Alana left for Lake Tahoe for 5 days of skiing. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of snow out there. Cassie is getting ready to return to Michigan and Kevin has been hanging out with Colin and Paul.

May 23rd (Day 143) - I Do ... again

2010-05-27T11:45:00.002-04:00

Today Alana and I went to mass and the renewal of wedding vows for our good friends Gary and Jean. It was really nice. Mark and Kevin met us after for bunch since Kevin had a soccer game. Kevin's team lost both their games today to end up 2-9 for the season. It's been a rough road.

The Fite's and their niece bringing up the gifts.

Here is the happy couple.

And the whole family.

May 22nd (Day 142) - Walk & Wags

2010-05-27T11:40:00.000-04:00

Today was the big Walk & Wags fundraiser for our Humane Society. Alana raised $490 dollars and was probably the 4th biggest youth earner. I hope she does it again next years and gets in the top 3 for an award. We took Ollie and I got my exercise. He was really pulling on the leash. After about 30 minutes he started to calm down a bit. We saw a lot of neat dogs at the event and even one pig. It was a real success and HSHV earned $140,000.

{ get pic from Alana's camera)

Kevin's team played soccer again and managed their second win.

May 21st (Day 141) - It's a Blur but I know we won

2010-05-27T01:14:00.000-04:00

Everything is starting to blur together since I haven't been sleeping well. I went to Bobbie's for a while even though Kevin was home again. I came home after stopping at the drug store for her and picking up pizza. I had to feed everyone and get Kevin to his soccer game. Luckily he only has a cold because he really needs to play at least a little.

We were under lightning delay when I got to the fields at 6:30pm. I was determined to get this game in since the other team drove 2 hours on a Friday night to play it. We were able to start a little late and make it through the first half before there was more lighting. The weather was horrid and it keep raining really hard on and off. We decided to wait it out and luckily we did. We were able to play the whole game. I swear I saw lightning a few more times even though the detection system didn't sound. We won are first game of the season 3-1 and Kevin scored one goal and crossed one that the other team scored on themselves. Not too bad for a sick kid.

I don't think I took any picture today, but these were on my camera. Sometimes little elves seem to do my work for me. Here is Cassie making Turtle do "the curl". Don't worry, the vet says this makes them better cats when they grow up.

And here is Scotch in another new sleeping spot. I guess he wants to be Ollie's next meal.

May 20th (Day 140) - Way too much going on!

2010-05-27T00:58:00.001-04:00

I returned J.J. and Panda Bear and wished them luck in finding their new homes. Then I headed to my rescheduled doctor's appointment. I got an x-ray of my foot to see if they could figure what was wrong.

Mark got home way late because there was so much to do to help his mom. He showered and rushed off to work for a few hours so he could get back to her house.

Kevin was sick but when I called school to tell them I found out there were lots of things they were waiting on from me. I hate when I mess up. I got it all done, even finding pictures of Kevin for the graduation party. Since the scanner isn't working I had to take pictures and Photoshop them. Here is Kevin as a baby. I felt bad for him today because he was sick and I was basically MIA between the doctor's and helping out at Mark's Mom's house.

A highlight today was finding Scotch on top of the encyclopedias sleeping today. Reminds me of trying to learn by osmosis in college.

Mark found out today that the home care nurse they set up only takes care of checking her health and medications once a week. That was not what we were expecting. So he set up a meeting with another company that provides home care. Bobbie was not thrilled. Luckily they met with the company that night and everyone is feeling a little more comfortable. Women will come in from 8pm to 8am each night and be able to help her get up in the morning. So after tonight Mark will get to sleep in his own bed again.

Cassie and I picked up her car today too. It will be a big help to have another driver again. I also drove to volleyball. I really don't think we can keep up this pace much longer.

May 19th (Day 139) - Bobbie home and Last Day for the Big Boys

2010-05-27T00:34:00.002-04:00

Mark took his mother home today from the hospital. She didn't want to go to a recovery center. We're still not sure how things will be taken care of. I had told Mark the other night that she wanted us to handle all her care but he was too tired for it to sink in. He will be spending the night tonight, but I am not sure how long that can last.

At home I couldn't find the kittens for a while but finally found them in the laundry bins. J.J. and Panda Bear are big enough for surgery so I am taking them back tomorrow. I need to lighten my load so I'm able to help Mark more with his mom. I will miss J.J. especially, he's such a good cat.

May 18th (Day 138) - Pow!

2010-05-27T00:27:00.000-04:00

I took Cassie's car today to get a quote for the glass. We'll get it fixed as well as the cracked front windshield. Kevin posed so you can see what they did. Luckily the alarm scared them away and they did not take anything. I wouldn't feel comfortable is they had our garage door opener.

And today I found Scotch on the clean laundry. I guess he couldn't wait for the bed to be made.

May 17th (Day 137) - Blood Thinners are a Necessary Evil

2010-05-27T00:21:00.000-04:00

We went to see Bobbie tonight in the hospital. She was sitting up in a chair. They have here on blood thinners so she won't get a blood clot, but it causes her to bruise all over. We also talked to the nurse about what will happen once she's released. We really don't have a good handle on it even thought it might be in less than 2 days.

May 16th (Day 136) - Not so Good

2010-05-27T00:12:00.002-04:00

Yesterday between matches, one of the other parents, Kelly, and I went to the nail salon at Meijer's and I got my first pedicure ever. I thought I should take a picture.

Volleyball did not go so well. We lost all our matches today. It was really disappointing. I think they got our hopes up since they performed better than expected yesterday. I didn't take many pictures but did get one of Alana and her coach, Kenny. Too bad she closed her eyes. We are really lucky to have Kenny. He is a really nice guy, a good coach, and Alana likes him a lot.

Calling home we found out Cassie's car got broken into on our driveway at 3am. Mark had to get up and call the police. They came out but had to go break up a party and come back at 5am again. Poor guy, he just cannot get a decent night's sleep.

May 15th (Day 135) - Not so Bad

2010-05-27T00:06:00.000-04:00

With all the injuries on Alana's team, including a stress fracture of the back, we weren't even sure there would be enough players to play. But Kenny got a sub for them and a few of the girls were going to try even though they weren't feeling the best.

We were amazed that after losing their first match, they won the next two. They did lose one game to the worst team in the division, but came back to win the short game 15-2. As a team they really get along well and are so supportive. It's really fun to be on this team. Today they even let 5' 3" Alana be a hitter. She did really well.

May 14th (Day 134) - Surgery and off to Grand Rapids

2010-05-26T23:58:00.000-04:00

I started off the day trying to find my family at the hospital. I started at Bobbie's original room and after a lot of misdirection found out there was a waiting room on the second floor for family. I just missed her before she headed in for surgery but was waiting for Mark and his sister Kim, when they came back out from seeing her. Mark headed off for work and Kim and I spent time together waiting. They buzzed us when surgery was over. They put us in this very small room to wait for the doctor. Kim said other doctors had gone out into the waiting room so we got a little freaked out. But the doctor was just filling out his paperwork.

I wasn't able to stay long enough to see her. I headed home and packed so Alana and I could head to Grand Rapids for her volleyball tournament. We stopped on the way there and bought a cute little coach wristlet for Erica for her birthday. It was on clearance and with the 20% off coupon they handed us at the door, it was in Alana's budget.

May 13th (Day 133) - Sleepy Kittens and Hospitals

2010-05-26T22:50:00.001-04:00

Today was a rainy, lazy day. It worked out well because soccer was cancelled and I could go visit Bobbie in the hospital. She isn't going to have her surgery until tomorrow. They are hoping it will just be a partial hip replacement but won't know until it happens. She was upset when I got there but I think it's all related to all the medication she's on.

Kittens were just lazing around today. Here is J.J. on Cassie.

And seriously Scotch. Sleeping with your head in the stinky track shoe.

May 12th (Day 132) - What a Day!

2010-05-26T22:38:00.002-04:00

I guess I'll start at the very beginning. The day began like it has for the last week or so. With this little bird hitting out window. He likes the perch on the brick ledge and continually fly into or flap his wings against the window. Starting at 6:00am. He does it on and off all day long. I might have to go buy a gun.

Cassie had the last of her AP exams. I'm sure she's glad it's done. And she'll finally be able to start participating at track again. Her coach is understandably upset with her, but her studies just have to come first.

This afternoon Mark's mom fell going into the hair salon. She called someone at Mark's work to go help her when she got back to the house, but they were at least smart enough to let Mark know what was going on. He went to meet her and she was really hurting, so he took her straight to urgent care. She was transferred to the hospital where they found out she had a broken hip and she'll have to stay for a hip replacement. Mark didn't get home until 1:30am. This was really such a bummer since she was leaving for a trip tomorrow to see her friend in Georgia.

On the home front, I went to PetsMart to pick up some things while Cassie was cleaning cat cages. I then ran around between Volleyball and Baseball, since I could never get ahold of Cassie to ask for her help. She can seriously drive me crazy but she does a great job at her volunteer job.

May 11th (Day 131) - What a Geek

2010-05-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

Kittens are always fascinated with computers, but Panda Bear is an all around computer geek! Check out the whiskers on this little boy.

May 10th (Day 130) - The Croc Cot

2010-05-25T22:31:00.003-04:00

I told you Scotch slept in strange places. This is where Cassie found him this morning. It's the all new Croc cot. He even slept while he was carried around and I took his picture.

And here's another view.

Cassie took her AP Biology exam today. She said it was much harder than all the practice exams but she thinks she still passed.

Besides that Kevin had his first rec baseball game. They haven't had a practice and he hasn't played in 4 years. Most of the other boys play for the school so they were able to win. Kevin struck out but said he had fun.

May 9th (Day 129) - More Soccer

2010-05-25T22:22:00.000-04:00

Kevin's team had to play again today. Luckily it was only about 40 minutes away and they played much better. They lost but the score was only 3-1 against a pretty good team. There was not much else going on today so I spent much of the day digi-scrapping again. I did a layout on all the purple rooms in the house. This is my favorite room from a decorating standpoint. It's my dining room. I really like how it turned out.

May 8th (Day 128) - Soccer Blowout

2010-05-25T22:10:00.003-04:00

Kevin's team didn't fair very well. It was 36 degrees and snow flurries. I don't think they were quite prepared or dressed for it. It was 3-0 at half time and 12-0 by the end of the game. Ouch. They then had to drive a few hours and play again. They lost 8-1. I'm sure they were glad when it was time to come home. Not a very good day for the soccer team.

At home it was just Cassie and I. I took the kitten crew in for shots and then back at home I spent the day taking pictures and digiscrapping. Here is Cassie with Scotch. He's such a little lover. And check out Cassies hair, she got it re-dyed black underneath last night. It looks pretty good, but blends in with her t-shirt.

May 7th (Day 127) - He comes and He Goes

2010-05-25T22:00:00.002-04:00

Kevin had a late school start because of his trip but I just went ahead and let him stay home for the day. He and Mark had to drive with his new coach, Marty, up to Traverse City. Alana decided to go with them and drive part of the trip. She still needs a lot of hours for driver's ed.

And we've named another one. This is Scotch because of his nice butterscotch color, but we think Scotch is a little more masculine. This crazy kitten can fall asleep in the strangest places so I've started taking his picture. Here he is on the remote control. Of course, no one wanted to move him so we couldn't change the channel on the TV.

May 6th (Day 126) - Oops, Sorry Dr. Leon

2010-05-25T21:36:00.003-04:00

I missed my physical this morning. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I was distracted by the kittens. I didn't do that much today besides the normal. Except I did go get Kevin. They didn't get back until almost midnight. Do you think he called me once while he was gone? Nope, such a guy.

Here is little Turtle, the last of the kittens. She's a real handful and not the best at the litter box. But we love her anyhow.

May 5th (Day 125) - 8th Grade Trip & AP Exams

2010-05-05T20:17:00.002-04:00

Kevin left at 5:00am for his 8th grade trip to Chicago. They go for a quick two days so he'll be back at 11:30pm tomorrow night. They go on two coach busses. Alana went 2 years ago and says the bus ride is almost the best part of the trip. Go figure.

Cassie had her first AP exam. It was English or Composition. She thinks it went well.

Bobbie stopped by today to bring some chocolate covered strawberries that Mary had sent her for her birthday. They were huge and oh so pretty. That didn't stop Cassie and I from digging in and eating a few. They were so good!

May 4th (Day 124) - Hugo II or Panda Bear

2010-05-04T20:14:00.000-04:00

This little one looks just like one of our first fosters, Hugo, so Mark calls him Hugo II. Cassie wanted to call him Bear and we finally settled on Panda Bear. They all really love their ducky and Panda Bear loves to hug it. I've even made a scrapbook page about it.

May 3rd (Day 123) - Painting all Done

2010-05-03T20:11:00.002-04:00

They finished painting today. Our bedroom and bathroom, Kevin's bedroom and bathroom, and the powder room have a fresh coat of paint. It feels really great to have it done and to have them out of the house. I can never get anything done with workers in the house. Here is my newly painted bathroom. I really love it.

May 2nd (Day 122) - Stylin'

2010-05-02T20:06:00.002-04:00

Kevin had a soccer game this morning. One of the defenders got red carded. It's the first time we've ever had that happen on our team. I really think it was not earned and it caused us to lose the game. Even playing with only 10 players we were still getting shots off. I know we would have won with a full team on the field.

Today was also Bobbie's (my MIL) birthday. So Kim and Steve and the kids came across town and we all took her to Applebee's to celebrate. Don't ask me why I didn't take any pictures. I at least got one shot of Marisa's cool shoelaces. Who knows how long it took her too weave these babies together.

May 1st (Day 121) - A New Favorite

2010-05-01T19:59:00.001-04:00

Alana has picked out a new favorite whom she's names J.J. He's a spunky little thing but he hasn't really purred. Doesn't he look familiar. Yep, he almost the same as Carmie, her last favorite. Here he is snuggled up with her on the couch for a nap.

Apr. 30 (Day 120) - Where's Anya

2010-04-30T16:10:00.001-04:00

Since it was Friday, Doreen and Liz were here to clean. I could not find Anya in the office at all. How do you lose an eighteen pound cat in a 12ft by 12ft space with no real funiture. It ends up she was hiding behind the TV. I didn't think there was enough room back there. I uncovered her enough for a photo. I think she was scared of the vacuum cleaner.

Apr. 29 (Day 119) - Sibling always Share

2010-04-29T14:50:00.008-04:00

I decided to see if the little kittens would try some canned food. I thought maybe it wouldn't be as messy as the formula. I thought the little ones could share off the same plate so I wouldn't go through them so fast. Wrong and wrong! The darker girl was trying to shoulder her orange brother right off the plate. Luckily he's bigger so she just ended up sliding the whole plate. It's so funny to watch.

Apr. 28 (Day 118) - Kittens in the Kitchen

2010-04-28T16:06:00.001-04:00

The plan was that the kittens would be in a cage in the office with Anya. Right away that didn't work. Anya sat across the room and just growled, she was one unhappy girl. I thought they would be okay since they were in the cage but darned if some of the little devils couldn't climb up the side of the cage and squeeze through holes in the top. So I had to relocate them to the kitchen. Here they are in action.

Apr. 27 (Day 117) - Bottle Feeding failure

2010-04-27T14:44:00.001-04:00

The two little kittens are supposed to be bottle fed. I tried and just couldn't get it to work. I even tried syringe feeing which has worked in the past, but they would have none of it. Their favorite method to get kitten formula is straight out of a little tupperware lid.

This is what a little kitten looks like when drinking formula. Yuck!

Apr. 26 (Day 116) - We have kittens again!

2010-04-26T14:38:00.002-04:00

We went and got our 2nd batch of kittens for the year. I picked up 3 male kittens from 3 different litters. No sooner had I gotten home when there was a call that someone had caught the sister of one of them. So four kittens are now at our house. Ollie has to check them all out good before they're allowed to roam.

Apr. 25 (Day 115) - A Little Scary

2010-04-25T14:35:00.003-04:00

I'll admit that sometimes Anya is a little scary. She's so big and I can never tell what she's thinking. She's a pretty cat but I'm not sure how long it will take to get her a new home.

And Mark surprised me by saying the painters would be arriving in the morning, to start painting the last 5 rooms in the how. So we had to quickly start picking out colors.

Apr. 24 (Day 114) - Surprise

2010-04-24T09:12:00.001-04:00

My Mark took Kevin to his tournament in Kalamazoo, so I went along to Diane's surprise 50th birthday party. It was a lot of fun. The funniest part of the night was before it even started. Diane's old high school friend took her to the spa as her "distraction." About the time they were expected back, Mark (her husband) gets a call saying their car had been towed and they need a lift home. Everyone thought that was so funny. Here a picture of the Mueller's and one of the boy's little cousins.

Apr. 23 (Day 113) - Sleep Over

2010-04-23T09:08:00.001-04:00

Cassie had a few girls spend the night tonight. They pulled out the bow and arrows for the first time in a long time. Probably because Kevin got a new target at Christmas. I think they had a lot of fun. Here are Cassie and Andrea shooting at the target on the hill. Courtney freaked out when she learned that the arrow were real and could actually go throw somebody, even thought they were just practice arrows.

Apr. 21 (Day 111) - First Rainbow of the Year

2010-04-21T09:04:00.001-04:00

We had a late afternoon show. It go dark pretty quick and started to clear up right away. Mark called me and told me to look out in front of the house. There was a pretty rainbow. I got a picture right as it was starting to fade.

Apr. 20 (Day 110) - Let's Take Aim

2010-04-20T09:02:00.001-04:00

Mark and I attended another YPO event. Last minute for me because the carpool situation worked out at the end. It was on self protection and guns. We went to a presentation where they talked about the new gun legislation and how to get a concealed weapons permit. They had a police office show ways you can defend yourself is somebody has a gun. And then they had a demonstration with a trained protection dog. We then got to shoot different guns in the gun range.

Here is Olga, she takes all her command in German. She gets loaned out to the police but she does belong to a family and she plays with their kids and other pets.

Here is the target where I was shooting. I think the head shots were all mine. Yikes!

Mark shooting an AK-16, I think. He like it because it had a sight on it.

Mark with a revolver. I really like this picture.

I only shot about 8 rounds off on one gun. I was that comfortable and didn't realize until I tried to fill out our event evaluation that I was still shaking a half hour later. It was scary that they had all those people in the same room with guns when they didn't know what they were doing. But, it was a really good event and I'm glad that I went.

Apr. 19 (Day 109) - What was I thinking

2010-04-19T08:46:00.001-04:00

When an email came out last Thursday asking if someone would host the Track team dinner, I said that I would do it. I was told to expect 45 girls and I would be supplies all the food. Umm, ok. Do they not realized what a production that is. I had one mom agree to make a bowl of salad to help.

I actually didn't even start shopping until noon. A bunch of Gorton's trays of pasta, garlic bread from the Picnic basket, and a big cake did the trick. I was so proud that I didn't stress myself out like usual. But I was lucky that less than 30 girls showed up, because man those girls can eat. I had part of a tray of lasagna left an that was it.

Here's everyone singing Happy Birthday to Grecia. Sorry, but I don't really want to post all their faces since I don't know their families. :)

Apr. 18 (108) - Bottle Feeding for Dummies

2010-04-18T08:40:00.001-04:00

I just can't seem to bottle feed kittens. So today I went to a class. Shari ran through everything you need to know to take care of you kitten, 1 day to 3 weeks old. She had some cute 2 week old kittens there. I should have practice but didn't get a chance. I might have to go back again and try because it's still not working for me.

Apr. 16 (106) - A Swarm of Girls

2010-04-16T08:36:00.001-04:00

Not too much exciting happened today. But at one point this huge SUV limo pulled down our street. A swarm of little girls came pouring out and ran up to our neighbors house. They were there for about 3 minutes and then all took off again. Now that's a birthday party!

Apr. 15 (Day 105) - Need pictures of the other camera

2010-04-15T23:50:00.000-04:00

will edit later.

Apr. 14 (Day 104) - Busy People are Happy People, Right?

2010-04-14T23:20:00.000-04:00

So Mark left yesterday again for a pseudo business trip and our schedule tonight was packed. We had track, volleyball, cleaning cats at Petmart, volunteer party at the Humane Society, freshman registration at the high school for Kevin, and ticket to hear the author, Scott Turow.

Why do the things you really want to do always happen at the same time? So I juggles just about everything and chucked volleyball out the window. I got friends to take Kevin to registration, Alana's friend who drives took her to clean the cat cages, I went but really missed most of my party, and met Cassie at the Village Theater to hear Scott Turow speak.

All in all, it worked out pretty well. If you don't know Scott Turow wrote Presumed Innocent (and many other good books). But you may know that one because it was made into a movie with Harrison Ford and some other well known actors. Scott Turow is a practicing lawyer as well as an author and Cassie and I really enjoyed seeing him. I didn't get the best shot since I didn't want to use a flash, but here he is.

Apr. 13 (Day 103) - I'll have to get back to you on this

2010-04-13T23:11:00.000-04:00

Not sure if I have a picture for today.

Apr. 12 (Day 102) - Anya

2010-04-12T23:10:00.000-04:00

While on vacation I got an email that a cat had been in the shelter for 240 days. She was not very happy anymore and really needed a place to chill. So even thought I had laundry and things to be doing, I went and picked up Anya. She's a really pretty Maine Coon cat whose about 10 years old. Her owner gave her up after having her for 9 years. I have no idea why.

Apr. 11 (Day 101) - No Free Tickets for Us

2010-04-11T23:07:00.000-04:00

We headed home today. I was all ready to get booted off our flight and get some free plane tickets. I knew they were overbooked because we couldn't even get seat assignments for the girls and I. Sure enough, they were offering $600 vouchers for anyone willing to stay behind. But nobody was willing to do it. Especially once they found out that we were upgraded to First Class for the second flight of our trip. I don't know why it happened since we didn't pay for it or have any sort of special tickets.

None of the teens had ever had ever flown first class and there was no way they were gonna miss that. Here's Paul and Kevin in First Class. They watched movies and played games on the little TVs in the headrest in front of them.

Poor Alana! She fell asleep and didn't find out you could use the little TVs until we landed in Detroit. She says we now have to fly her first class again. Sure, babe, we'll get right on it. :)

Apr. 10 (Day 100) - Just Us Detroiters

2010-04-10T22:57:00.000-04:00

Laura, Sarah and Allie left about 6am this morning. Laura said she almost woke them at 3am because she was up and they all regretted that she didn't. It took then something like 21 hours to get to Louisville when it was only about 15 hours on the way down. That a whole other long store.

Here in Bonita Springs, we tried to play tennis today, but it just didn't work out. We didn't have rackets and they only place that had rackets closed at 2pm. Which we found out at about 2pm. So Mark and I took Paul, Kevin, and Alana to another putt putt golf place. The said it was a lot better than the first one they went to. Here they are waiting for Mark and I.

And of course, the all important score tallying.

I can't even remember who won although it was probably Mark. I just know it wasn't me.

Cassie was supposed to be working on her AP bio, but of course got distracted again. Which means she just sat addicted to her computer again. That caused a huge argument between Mark, her, and I.

Apr. 9 (Day 99) - Sea Kayaks Do Over

2010-04-09T22:48:00.000-04:00

So we decided we'd get up really early to get out on the first sea kayaks at 8am. But of course we woke up and it was raining with some thundershowers. We decided to let the teens sleep a little extra and when it looked like the storms were going to pass we headed out. We timed it perfectly so that after the 40 minute drive to Sanibel it was just cloudy when we arrived and nobody was at the kayak place yet.

We all paired up since Laura stayed behind because her ankles were still so swollen. There was Paul and Kevin, of course.

And surprisingly Alana and Cassie chose to go out together. And they headed straight out paddling perfectly in unison. Go figure!

Mark and I were together, but I didn't take our picture. And lastly, Sarah and Allie.

They had a little route through the mangrove that was really neat but pretty narrow in places. We were either cracking up or bickering over how to paddle together. It was all pretty fun. Quit a few kayaks ran into the trees or each other. And I have to say it was the first time I've ever heard Paul and Kevin argue. Even that was making me laugh.

There were tons of birds. The two best things we saw was this baby bird, whose mother was trying to get it to fly.

and the heron that was fishing. It would jump around in circles and then stab down at the fish. I was filming it but stopped right before it caught it's fish. Ugh! Luckily Sarah caught it on her camera.

We headed back out of the mangrove just as a whole tour was heading in. It was pretty funny trying to navigate around them in the narrow parts. And it was funny to hear them all arguing as they went by.

Apr. 8 (Day 98) - R & R

2010-04-08T22:34:00.000-04:00

After our really long day yesterday we decided to take it easy. I think the boys just hung around the pool all day. Cassie sat with her head in facebook. The rest of us went up the street to the Beach club. It was nice because we had lawn chairs and they brought us some drinks. Allie and Alana were having fun in the inner tubes. There was actually a little bit of waves since it was windy out.

Apr. 7 (Day 97) - The Everglades

2010-04-07T22:28:00.000-04:00

It was a really long day but pretty fun. We did our day long everglades tour. We had a tour guide named, "fill in later", that warned us he would talk from beginning to end and he wasn't joking. We spent many hours traveling from place to place and he would just talk about the roads, the environment, whatever was on his mind. He was pretty funny and not too loud so you could rest if you wanted, which was nice.

Our first stop was a boardwalk into a wet area. X said it was normally all dry but the weather had been so bad this winter it was still wet, so the alligator could move around more and we wouldn't see them here. Not to worry, there were plenty to see later. We got to see the strangler fig trees that will complete wrap the cypress tree and a large eagles nest.

We then headed to everglade city and to the National Parks boat tour. We saw so many different animals. Here is the osprey with her two babies. She squawked at then until they ducked down in the nest.

We then saw a manatee. Or rather it's nose, but I didn't get a picture. Someone else saw something in the water and it turned out to be a raccoon. The are the only mammals that can survive out in the mangroves because they've learned to like the dew off the leaves in the morning. The poor little guy thought we were gonna run him over.

We saw four or five dolphin playing in the water and they followed the boat for a while. The teens were as enthusiastic as ever. Especially when they ran out of gas in one engine and it took a bit longer to head back to the dock.

Next we drove through the Everglades on the one main road. There's a man made canal that has alligators just about everywhere you look. We stopped a few times for some photos. Eventually even Paul and Kevin would get out. Still looking really excited.

Our final stop was for our fan boat ride. We had to wait a while but they had lizards and birds and even a baby alligator to see while we were waiting. Cassie was the only one that held it. I was surprised they didn't have it's mouth banded because I wouldn't want that thing to bite me.

On the fan boat we so tons of alligators. The said there were 3,000-4,000 in just that lake. It was pretty loud but we had muffler type headphones on. It was a lot of fun be we didn't go as fast as I thought we would.

We had to unexpected things happen on the trip. At the end we saw a bald eagle. It was a young one that hadn't turned white yet. It was pretty neat to see. During the middle of the trip we went around the corner and saw this...

Seriously, can anyone say "Lake Placid."

Apr. 6 (Day 96) - Comedy of Errors

2010-04-06T23:21:00.000-04:00

We headed off at 9:30am this morning for Sanibel Island. We were hoping to go sea kayaking but traffic was pretty bad and it took over an hour to get there. By that time there was at least an hour wait. We decided to head to the beach instead, but it took almost another hour to find a beach with parking. We did see some really neat houses on Captiva Island but were so glad to get out of the car.

When we made it to the beach it was actually more sandy then we expected and we were really bummed. Mark and I walked down the beach and found where there were a lot more shells thankfully. I walked down with Allie and Sarah and found a bunch more, while the rest went to eat. We were all in a much better mood, but decided to head home before getting stuck in traffic headed off the island.

There was more swimming in the house pool, a great dinner made by Laura, and Mark took a bunch of the teens putt-putt golfing (Allie won). What started off so badly ended up being a pretty good day.

I took this picture right before the Sanibel toll booth. You can just see the bird in his nest.

Apr. 5 (Day 95) - Lover's Key State Park

2010-04-05T23:13:00.000-04:00

Since we arrived so late we slept in and then headed to the beach at Lover's Key State Park around 1:00pm. It was a little disappointing that it was so shelly you couldn't build a sand castle. But the boys made do with burying themselves in the sand. Allie and Alana floated on some rafts in the cold water and Cassie laid on the beach by the broken umbrella trying to read for school. It was really hot on the beach and the sun was so bright, we only stayed a few hours.

Laura walked through the park but said you couldn't see much of the water because of all the foliage. On the way out we stopped at the spot where the manatee are usually found but there weren't any.

Apr. 4 (Day 94) - On our Way

2010-04-04T23:04:00.000-04:00

Everyone was arriving in Florida at different times. I dropped Mark, Kevin, and Paul off at the airport at 7:15am. There arrived at noon and went to play golf before anyone else arrived. Sarah, Laura, and Allie stopped at the Tampa zoo at lunch and then planned to arrive by car by 5:00pm. And the girls and I had a 7:30pm flight arriving around 10:30pm. We saw a great sunset on the plane.

Apr. 3 (Day 93) - Hair cut and Shopping

2010-04-03T22:59:00.000-04:00

I went and got my hair cut by Carol this morning. We've been going to her salon for about 13 years and she's such a great woman.

The rest of the day was shopping for the trip and getting packed. Unfortunately Cassie chose to start doing laundry for the trip at 9pm at night when we had to be packed by morning. So it was another night of not enough sleep.

Apr. 2 (Day 92) - Yep, I did it again

2010-04-02T22:56:00.000-04:00

Okay, I didn't get a great picture, but I think I really did break my toe again. I really cannot believe I'm that much of a klutz.

Apr. 1 (Day 91) - Goodbye Sunshine

2010-04-01T23:18:00.001-04:00

Cassie was home again. We both just lounged around not feeling great. My one job for the day was to get a picture of the sunset. It was beautiful and sunny all day. The temperature was near 70 degrees. But no luck on the sunset. It had to get cloudy right around that time.

I ran my foot into the ottoman in the kitchen this morning. Do other people break two toes in 3 weeks time? Somehow, I don't think so.

Mar. 31 (Day 90) - A win

2010-03-31T23:10:00.000-04:00

Cassie stayed home sick today. She didn't get up until afternoon. I told her to get up and we'd be going to Urgent Care. They diagnosed her with a sinus infection and gave her an antibiotic.

Later at night I took Kevin to his indoor soccer game. They play with two boys teams mixed together so they didn't even all know each others names. They still managed to win 8-6.

Mar. 30 (Day 89) - Sunset Photography

2010-03-31T02:22:00.001-04:00

We did the normal running around today. Cassie ran track and Alana went to volleyball practice. Alana drove on the way there. Driving on the highway during rush hour is not her favorite thing and it's little nerve-wracking for me too. We had a few close calls but I guess that's what a learner's permit is for.

I tried to take a picture of the sunset tonight and Mark drove up the driveway right as I was doing it. I like how his headlights are lighting up the bushes.

Mar. 29 (Day 88) - Science Fair

2010-03-31T02:18:00.003-04:00

The girls only went to school for a few hours today because of their colds. I think Kevin is the only one feeling okay right now. He worked on his science fair project. He's testing if magnets effect plant growth. Thankfully we bought 4 different kinds of seeds because two types never germinated. Mr. Green Bean here was one of them.

In the evening, Mark, Cassie and I met with a college financial planner. We're trying to get a handle on where she could go to college and what we can do to maximize the amount of scholarships she could receive.

Mar. 28 (Day 87) - More sickness

2010-03-31T02:14:00.001-04:00

Alana's cold got the better of her and she decided not to go to her volleyball tournament this morning. So everybody slept in until about 10am. Mark did take her later to cheer on her team in the semi-final and finals. They lost the final match and ended up second place in the Gold (highest) bracket.

She came home and worked on her needlework for a textiles class. She very much underestimated how long it would take. I got a shot of the spot where she sat until 1:45am. Unfortunately she had already put away her needlework and I didn't want to make her take it back out. I'll have to get a picture after the teacher returns it.

Mar. 27 (Day 86) - Vet-a-Visit Michigan State

2010-03-31T02:03:00.002-04:00

Alana and I got up early to go to Michigan State to visit the vet school. They had lots of little exhibits and fun things for kids. We missed most of that but did attend a few lectures on how to position yourself so that you are accepted to vet school. There are only 29 in the country including Michigan State. MSU Vet School lets in 108 students a year so it's very difficult to get in. She's not positive she wants to become a vet but she said attending vet-a-visit made her more interested. For fun we did go see the horse treadmill demonstration. Here is Beanie on her treadmill.

After we got home, my cold just wiped me out. Even though Alana was sick too she got ready and went to her good friend Morgan's 16th birthday party. Luckily Mark got home last night so he could take Kevin to his 8:30pm soccer game tonight. There was no way I could do it.